Herman Cain at TeaCon 2011, video of his press conference, and media bias



The Herman Cain tidal wave rolled through Schaumburg, Illinois Saturday afternoon at TeaCon 2011. Although his appearance had only been announced a few days prior, I suspect that he would have been the darling of the 1,000 attendees at the sold-out event anyway, based upon my non-scientific survey of automobile bumperstickers in the parking lot of the Renaissance Hotel.

His speech was jam-packed with potent sound bites. "You have to stay informed because stupid people are running the country." Despite his recent surge in the polls and his surprise victory in last weeks's Florida P5 Straw Poll, he's still running as an underdog, "Message is more important than money," he asserted.

Cain won the TeaCon 2011 straw poll victor too; he collected a resounding 77 percent of the tally. Michele Bachmann, who appeared via a conference call, finished second, Newt Gingrich third. After them it was Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and then Barack Obama--who topped Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson. What's up with that?

Reagan's boyhood home, Dixon, IL

Cain invoked the name of the only president born in Illinois, Ronald Reagan, who often spoke of America as a "shining city on a hill." But under President Obama, Cain argued, our nation has slid down that hill. He urged the tea partiers to "Send a message to Washington DC, send a message and let them know that we are going to move that city on a hill and put it back on top."

One of the knocks against the former Godfather's Pizza CEO is that he has no foreign policy experience. But he offered his international viewpoint, calling it "an extension of the Reagan foreign policy of 'peace through strength.'" Cain adds "clarity" to what may end up being called the Cain Doctrine.

As for Israel, Cain repeated something he said in one of the debates. "When you mess with Israel, you are messing with the United States of America." Then he added, "Is that clear, is that clear?"

Can you imagine Obama saying that?

About the debates: I have not been impressed with Cain's performances in them. Part of his problem is that he doesn't get much airtime from the moderators. But to completely appreciate Cain, you have to be there. He uses the entire stage when he speaks--there's an advantage of not using a teleprompter--and Cain fills that stage. Think of watching Lord of the Rings in a movie theatre as opposed to watching it on a 19-inch television--Cain's a big screen guy. His strategy to win the Republican nomination should include renting out as many VFW halls and high school gyms as he can and let word-of-mouth put him over the top.

Cain's address ended with "God bless the United States of America, the greatest country in the world." Can you imagine Obama saying that? He received a standing ovation--and not his first that afternoon.

I'm impressed with Cain, although I'm far from supportive of his 9-9-9 tax plan--which he also discussed in his speech. A nine percent sales tax on top of the already 9.5 percent I already pay in Cook County makes me a bit queasy.

After his speech Cain was privately interviewed by longtime Chicago-area conservative icon Jack Roeser, whose Champion News was one of the organizers of TeaCon 2011. Warner Todd Huston overheard the tail end of a discussion that made it clear that Cain and Roeser "were not getting along very well." The catalyst of their disagreement was Roeser's dislike of Cain's 9-9-9 plan, Huston writes.

Below you will find raw video of Cain's press conference. At the end I was able to ask follow up question--which I partially botched--to a bizarre query from a Daily Herald reporter about Cain's position on Asian carp. I asked him about the Asian carp czar in the Obama administration, Cain replied, "There will be no czars in the Cain administration." Good for him.



Maureen O'Donnell, a Chicago Sun-Times obituary writer, asked Cain a wedge issue question--regarding cheers at a presidential debate after a question directed to Rick Perry about the number of prisoners executed during his term as governor of Texas. She asked Rep. Joe Walsh personal-life questions earlier in the day--which he has answered before. Why not query the congressman about policy questions too?

Nice work if you can get it.

Media bias is alive and well. Are you ready for another instance? From Fox 32 Chicago:

Notably absent from the event? Generations X, Y and Z and minorities. The crowd mainly consisted of baby-boomers.

The audience was predominately white, but there were blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and young people there too.

Does the mainstream media report the demographics of liberal gatherings?

Related posts:

Michele Bachmann's via video comments at TeaCon 2011
Joe Walsh sounds the alarm at TeaCon 2011: We are in the midst of a revolution
Walsh slams ObamaCare at TeaCon 2011 breakout
Video: Joe Walsh's advice on what an average American can do to bring about real change
TeaCon 2011 with Andrew Breitbart